Why Are You Stuck In Your Career?

In my seven years of experience as a Recruiter and Career Coach, I have come across professionals who have achieved real career success while others are still stuck at the same level despite a seemingly great career start.

While some people are able to continue the growth curve from beginning to the end of their career, there are some who struggle with stagnation for a long period of time.

This article will shed light on why this happens and what you can do to change or avoid it.

So what are some of the reasons you could be stuck in your career?

1.Poor decisions early in your career

As you are starting out in your career, you are probably looking for the best paying job without necessarily trying to figure out what career move is best for you long term. This is why you find people switching jobs more at the beginning of their career.

If you are not careful it is possible to end up making mistakes that could affect your career direction which often results in getting stuck.

It is, therefore, very important that you think through any career decision you make early on very carefully.

2. You Keep doing the same kind of work/ avoid change

This is a common mistake most people make as well. Just because some industries require specialization does not mean that you should only stick to doing one thing.

For example, if you are in sales, you don’t only have to focus on being a real estate sales person but instead, you can try out insurance sales for example.

Most people prefer to stay in their comfort zones and avoid new experiences and challenges, this could result in you doing the same thing which could hinder growth in your career.

3. You Don’t pay enough attention to soft skills

Yes, you need to keep your technical skills up to date so as to remain relevant in the ever changing job market. This is why people go back to school to learn new skills and better their knowledge in their fields.

However, you cannot depend on these alone; in order to truly succeed and grow in your career, you will need to improve your soft skills as well.

Things like being able to work in a team, good communication skills, managerial skills, leadership and much more, can determine whether or not you get a promotion at work

4.You Don’t make sacrifices/ get out of your comfort zone

Sometimes in order to succeed in your career, you need to make sacrifices. You need to be able to put in extra work once in a while just so that you can get everything done.

Other times, you will have to work with people you don’t like but because you know where you want your career to go, you put up with it.

People who never go the extra mile rarely get promotions nor do they grow career wise. You need to get out of your comfort zone if you want a successful career.

5.You stay in one job too long/resist growth

I’m sure we all know of that person who has held one job title for over 10 years without any change in their day to day duties.

No matter how much you enjoy your job, you shouldn’t stay at it too long. This means that if you have been holding the same position for the last 10 years then something has to change. You cannot keep doing the same thing and expect growth, every job has a lifespan.

Keep in mind that this does not mean the organization’s you work for rather, it is the job that you do. Once you have been in a certain position for very long, there is a tendency for one to become lazy because of a lack of challenges.

How to get unstuck in your career

1.Know what you want

Where do you want to be five years from now career wise? Knowing the answer to this will help you when it comes to knowing what your goal is and how you will work towards it.

Without a clear picture of what you want to achieve, you will not be able to make good decisions that lead you in the right direction.

2. Create new contacts /networks

One sure way to ensure that you start working towards career growth is through making new networks that will help you when you start to look for new opportunities.

Not only that but the people you meet might help you by becoming your mentors and helping you get your career back on track.

3. Make a plan

The other thing you need to do is to come up with a step by step plan that will help guide you on what you need to work on in order to start growing in your career.

It is important that you make this plan as detailed as possible for example, you can have ‘get a LinkedIn profile’ as one of the tasks you need to complete instead of just having ‘start networking.’

It is very clear that in order to avoid getting stuck in your career, you need to get out of your comfort zone, take risks and accept change.

Would you love to join a group of other professionals in our Maximize Your Career Potential Bootcamp that will help bring out a better version of you career wise?

Email cmacharia@corporatestaffing.co.ke or lucy@corporatestaffing.co.ke for details.